Restaurants in Littleton

Celebrating seven years of service and flaunting freshly painted walls, Saigon Landing Restaurant reopened last year in Greenwood Village with its menu of fresh, heart-healthy Vietnamese cuisine intact. At both the Greenwood Village and Evergreen locations, an eclectic range of Eastern flavors abound, with lemongrass and curry anchoring plates piled with pork, chicken, seafood, or veggies. Outside, an American flag billows over a grassy border lined with vibrant foliage, fir trees, and a friendly giant tasked with blowing away approaching storm clouds.

Amid the lively Kinga’s Lounge, owner Kinga Klek regularly rolls up her sleeves and tends to the full bar and kitchen, working beside a family of staffers as they construct traditional Polish cuisine from scratch. The chefs turn fresh ingredients into authentic dishes, such as stews, schnitzels, and pierogis, while bartenders help diners navigate the staggering menu of Polish beers and vodkas.

Inside the lounge’s dining area, a full-wall mural interrupts a red-and-white color scheme as light from chandeliers dapples ornate wood furnishings. Leather armchairs cradle patrons upstairs, who can carry their merrymaking downstairs to Kinga’s Basement, an equally spirited watering hole where exposed-brick walls stand sentinel under arches and pillars. Festivities spill over to the outdoor patio, enclosed by verdant foliage and strings of lights that crisscross the al fresco space in a foolish attempt to make their way east to become one with the sun. A full schedule of events, including a live DJ on weekends and a comedy showcase on Sunday evenings, keeps revelers reveling.

For more than 27 years, chefs at Rodney's have manned grills within the cozy basement eatery, unfurling a menu of steak-house cuisine headlined by tender slabs of aged, USDA-choice meats. Hearty hunks of sirloin, filet mignon, and slow-roasted prime rib sate appetites and tone wrists' abs alongside a colossal cheese- and bacon-swathed baked potato that the Denver Westword included among its 100 Favorite Dishes of 2010. In addition to its prized steaks, the neighborhood eatery's kitchen dispenses hefty sandwiches and elegant seafood, such as fresh Atlantic salmon and shrimp, and its full bar unleashes a spectrum of cocktails.

Hot dogs have gone gourmet. At The Hawt Dog and Sausage Eatery, chefs pair charbroiled hot dogs or sausages with a host of creative accompaniments—which include marinated tomatoes, chipotle beef chili, and Cajun shrimp jambalaya sauce—before swaddling each “hawt” in fresh dough and baking it to perfection. Each hawt begins with a high-quality base: the restaurant only slings all-natural, locally sourced sausages made without antibiotics and growth hormones or Hebrew National hot dogs forged from 100% kosher beef. Chefs accentuate these savory cylinders with dressings, sauces, chips, and tater “tawts”—all of which they make in-house to avoid running costly background checks on the ingredients. In the dining room, customers relax at a long counter lined with metal sheets and sip local craft beer as they peer into the exposed kitchen.

Nonna's Chicago Bistro, named Best Italian in 2011 on Denver's 7 A-List, lures hungry passersby with a menu of Windy City–style Italian fare, more than 20 wines by the glass, and complimentary ciabatta bread with saucy marinara. The owners, a family of Chicago natives, dedicated Nonna's to their grandmother, whose passion for hearty, homestyle fare inspired their chefs to perfect such classics as chicken parmigiana, lasagna, and slow-cooked, Chicago-style ribs. Dinners pair with a glass of Italian Da Vinci chianti or a Californian 181 merlot, or assorted well drinks and domestic brews from the exposed-brick bar.

Nonna's Chicago Bistro's dining room provides guests with an elegant eating coliseum, boasting walls painted with grapevine designs and windows that welcome a breathtaking view of the Leaning Tower of Willis. The quaint eatery also fills ear canals with live music performed by jazz trios, classical guitarists, and country crooners on weekend evenings.

Rice Bistro & Sushi's kitchen overflows with cookware that steams and simmers dishes of pan-fried ginger sea bass, pots of rice noodles for pad thai, and golden portions of peking duck. Outside the kitchen, sushi chefs behind the sushi bar craft specialty fresh sushi and sashimi; the combination of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai earned the restaurant a nomination for Best Asian Fusion in ABC 7's 2011 Denver A-List. Despite the traditional recipes, chefs are conscious of modern dietary restrictions and never add MSG, peanut oil, or sulfuric acid to their meals. Items such as basil lobster and scallops can be prepared gluten-free upon request. Diners sip on imported Japanese sodas, teas, or an array of more than 130 different wines to accent bites of tempura lobster rolls, along with 10 varieties of hot and cold sake and specialty saketinis from the full bar.